Guardian
by pipsqueak66
Summary: Katherine is still creating mayhem in Mystic Falls. Then, Elana's "Cousin" comes to town. But it seems she has a secret of her own, and a fight to pick with Katherine. Bad Summary. Elana and Stefan! R&R please
1. Chapter 1

A/N This is my first Vampire Diaries fanfic! Please tell me what you think in a review! I will be introducing some new characters. This is not exactly following the show, because Katherine is not locked up in the tomb right now. Please R&R

Chapter 1

"What do you want?" It was Damon's usual way to answer the door. Jeremy had expected it, working on sarcastic responses the whole drive over, but when he arrived only two words escaped his lips:

"It's Elana."

"What?"

Jeremy pushed past Damon, rushing into the living room. "She's hurt, or - or something."

"What happened?" Stefan appeared in front of him as if out of the air.

"I came home, and I heard voices. They were coming from her room," the fire crackled as Jeremy paused to lick his lips "the voices were so similar, I thought she was talking to herself. But Elana wasn't alone, it was Katherine, I'm sure of it."

"Where are they now?" Damon demanded.

"Elana was crying, I could tell, and all I wanted to do was barge in and help her, but I'd die, and then there would be no way to tell you."

"You have a ring," Stefan groaned.

"That's just it though! I realized I don't have my ring," Jeremy murmured "Elana does."

Elana P.O.V.

"So you want to die?" The streets were empty and cold, just like Katherine.

"Yes," I murmured.

"And why is that?" she asked. "Wait, don't tell me. You have nothing to live for? Jeremy hates you, Caroline, Stefan, and Damon are all vampires and you're a week human. They'll live, and you'll die? Is that it? Or is this about your best friend, that witch, who is barely talking to you anymore. That thread, it would be so easy to snap. Then she'd be gone. This would just be easier, wouldn't it."

Katherine's light laughter was so vicious, evil.

"You want to hate me, but you know I'm right," her eyes lit up and a smile grew across her lips. "You did well, the other day. Stefan believed you. Like you'd break up with him for feeling too selfish. You could feel that way, but we both know, you need him."

She paced around me, her hand brushing the back of my neck.

"I - I just did what you told me to do."

"And I'm glad, killing everyone can get a bit suspicious. Not that I'm against that type of thing. But why should I kill you? If I do, Stefan will never respect me. I want him back, Elana."

"I want to die!" I bellowed.

"I know you do," Katherine pouted "but I think that I can help you."

"Help me?" I whimpered.

"Yes, you see I can take all your pain away."

"You can?"

"Of course I can, Elana. You see if we do this," I saw the knife only a split second before it pierced my leg. I screamed, grabbing my thigh.

"Shut up!" she smacked my face, and I felt a fresh stream of blood poor down my right cheek.

Katherine bent down, looked into my eyes. She was just inches from my face now.

"Isn't that-" a figure out of the darkness sent her body flying.

"Stefan," she purred "is that any way to treat the woman you love?"

"I don't love you." He spat.

She laughed "I think you do." Suddenly they were fighting, moving so fast my eyes could hardly register what was happening. "Stop it!" I screamed "Please!"

"Elana." I could feel myself blacking out. "Elana!"

"Stefan! Help her!" My eyes were weak with pain. Damon pounced and soon there was another in his place.

"Elana, please."

"Stefan," my hand found is soft cheek "I don't feel good."

"I know, it's going to be okay."

"You have to go."

"No," he brushed the hair out of my face, and I winced when it touched the wound on my forehead "I'm not leaving you."

"But the blood," I tried to move, Stefan pushed me back down in a way that was forceful but light at the same time.

"Don't worry about it. You're going to be fine, I'm here."

"I love you," I murmured weakly, "and what I said, what I did, it didn't want to-"

"Shhh, I know, save your strength."

"She's gone," Damon announced "crazy bitch disappeared again."

"She does that," I said. "Look, I'm really sorry about tonight. I didn't mean for all of this to happen. I just wanted her to…"

"Killing you, that's not the answer." Damon murmured "and she didn't meaning there's some reason she needs you alive."

"I know."

"Let's get you home," Stefan pulled me to his chest and lifted me off the pavement. I leaned in, clutching his jacket and breathing him in.

"She'll be there," Damon warned pulling me out of my trance. It's not safe."

"No where seems safe anymore," Stefan replied "what do you suggest we do?"

"Just take her back to our place tonight, that way we can both keep an eye out. Then, tomorrow, we'll think of something."

"I've got an idea."

"And who are you?"

"Sara," the girl whispered. "I'm Sara."

A/N please review! I really appreciate it! Vampire Diaries is my new obsession!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Sara?" I exclaimed, "is that really you?"

"Hey, Elena."

"Whoa, wait a second," Damon interrupted. "Someone fill me in here."

"I'm Sara," she said, walking towards us, "Elena's cousin."

"I haven't seen you in forever!" I ignored Damon and Stefan's confusion, "what are you doing here?"

"Visiting," she answered simply, "or rather staying. I'm going to be here for a couple of months."

"Why?" Stefan spoke up.

"My parents, they're traveling to Europe for a couple of months. Dad's trying to get this promotion with which we would move to England for a couple of years."

I couldn't believe it. When I was younger, Sara and her family would come up to the lake with us. They lived in South Carolina at the time. Even though I'm a few years older than Sara, she had always been really mature, and we got along well.

"Elena?"

"Hmm, what?" I managed dumbly. "Jenna sent me to find you. We'd better head back," Sara said quietly. I nodded, not moving. I needed to talk to Stefan. "I'll just meet you back home." She turned and disappeared into the darkness.

"So that's Sara?" Damon muttered.

"That's Sara."

"Your cousin?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"She seems so familiar," he whispered now, "I swear I've met her."

"Thank you!" Damon yelled "I didn't want to say anything, but yeah, totally!"

"She's not a vampire."

"You don't know that," I really wanted to punch Damon.

"Yes, I do. It's Sara! I've known her forever."

The next morning, as I lay in bed. I couldn't help but think about what Damon and Stefan had said. I knew she wasn't a vampire, but looking back, Sara was always different. She seemed to be hiding something. Something inside me, though, screamed that she wasn't a vampire. She couldn't be. There was no way. I was so deep in thought I didn't hear the light tapping at the door.

"Uh, sorry," Sara started to pull the door shut when I stopped her.

"Wait!"

"What?" She looked around frantically.

"What do you need?" I asked sitting up.

"God, you gave me a heart attack. My flat iron broke, Jenna said you might have one I could use."

"Oh, sure." I hopped out of bed, walked into the bathroom and pulled open the bottom drawer. "This is my old one, it works fine. It's not broken or anything. I just got a new one that's better." For the first time, I looked right at her. Her azure blue eyes gleamed back at me. "Your eyes, they're so blue."

"The iron is fine!" She smiled ignoring my comment, "thanks."

"Sara," she paused in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"I've missed you. It feels like it's been a long time."

"I know, it seems weird doesn't it?" She had no idea.

"Definitely," the door clicked and I was alone. It felt like I hadn't seen Sara in a long time, and I remember the last time we went to the lake. It was over a year ago now, probably closer to two years, and Sara seemed to look the same. As if she hadn't changed.

I ripped my phone off the charger, and paced as it booted up.

"Stefan? It's me, Elena."

"Hey-"

"I've got to talk to you, not over the phone."

"Okay," he murmured "when?"

"Can you meet me?"

"Why don't you just come over," Stefan said.

"Okay, I'll be right there," I snapped the phone shut, grabbed my keys and ran out the door.

"So she has cool eyes?" Damon laughed "seriously, that's it?"

"No, you don't get it. It was weird, they were too blue. Impossibly blue. And I got this, this feeling."

"A feeling?" Stefan peered at me. "Yeah! A good feeling, like," I paused "I don't know. It was like nothing bad would ever happen again. Like I'm safe."

Stefan and Damon shared a look.

"What?"

Stefan sighed before answering, "we don't know. I think we should just keep our eyes open, and see what happens."

"I think there's something she's not telling us."

"Any you're just going to accuse her? Elena, you have no proof."

"We could just stake her," Damon said from the corner "then see what happens."

"You are not staking her!" I yelled.

"Whoa, chill, it was just an idea." He put his palms up defensively.

"I want to know, and I'm going to figure it out. Whether you help me," I looked towards Stefan, "or not."

"What if she's just a mortal, Elena?" Stefan asked, placing a hand on my shoulder, "then she'll think you're crazy. Can we please just drop it, and then, see what happens."

"Fine."

"Come on," Damon faked his excitement, "its party time!" Stefan and I stared at him questioningly. "Mrs. Lockwood's birthday or something."

I took Stefan's hand as we walked out the door and into the night.

"Thanks for coming," the three words the Lockwood's seemed to utter the most. With all the parties, carnivals, dances and other events they threw, I swear I'd hardly ever heard them say anything else.

"Do you think Katherine is going to be here?" I asked Stefan.

"It's hard to say."

"Please," Damon muttered "she'll be here."

"Hey Elena!" Caroline rushed towards me, Bonnie in tow "the real party's in the back." She took my arm and pulled me out the back door. Damon disappeared in his own direction and Stefan followed, scanning the crowd for Katherine.

I did the same, but my eyes fell on the soft blonde hair that belonged to Sara. She was standing off the dance floor talking to Matt. She saw me looking and immediately waved. Matt turned and did the same, nodding to Stefan.

"I'll be right back," I pushed through the crowd, heading towards them, when I heard it, a scream which was soon joined by other screams. Then I saw her, Katherine, her face dripping with blood.

"Oh, Elena," she was in my face instantly.

"You're making a scene," I growled.

She ignored this, "Tell Stefan and Damon that I could snap your neck like a twig, and unless they want to risk it, they need to stop immediately.

I looked to Stefan, who heard everything she said and was standing at least twenty feet away. He had a pained look on his face, his eyes soft as ever.

"I like this." She said, just then two other men, who I assumed were vampires threw Damon and Stefan to the ground and injected something into their arms - vervaine. "No one can help you now."

People were staring, eyes wide, mouths gaping, "please don't do this," I begged.

"Are you going to cry?" She pouted, sarcastically "that's-"

"You are such a bitch!" Katherine was interrupted.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Sara said.

"Sara Gilbert, long time, no see," Katherine's fingers dug into my arm.

"Leave."

"Make me."

"Don't think I won't."

I watched as Katherine's jaw clenched "Fine. You win this time, Guardian." Damon and Stefan started in shock, as did everyone else. "This isn't over."

"You haven't changed a bit," Sara growled.

"Do you want to fight me?" Katherine asked "because I have no problem snapping your little head off."

"You couldn't if you tried," Sara replied smoothly "you know that."

Katherine's hand lashed towards Sara's throat, but before it even got close, Sara had grabbed it, and used the momentum that Katherine had to slam her into the brick. Katherine moaned out in pain.

"Vampires," Sara breathed "you all think you're so tough, like you're the best, you own the place. Well let's get something straight, no matter how cliché it sounds, good always triumphs over evil. And even though we support the vampires that chose to fight against those like you, your conceded minds are all the same. I'm here, Katherine, and it's my job to make sure Elena's safe. So bring it on, honey. I've got more than one fight to pick with you." And with that Sara released her grip on Katherine, and backed away.

Katherine took one last look at me, and disappeared into the darkness.

"Well, that was fun." Sara laughed.

"What the hell is going on?"

A/N: Please review! Thank you for all the positive feedback from chapter one!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"I was nine," Sara sipped her coffee "when I died."

"What are you?" I asked again stubbornly.

"I'm trying to tell you! Please stop interrupting," I leaned back into the couch, Stefan's arm over my shoulder. "When I was nine, I died of cancer. I became what humans think of as angles, the whole afterlife thing is complicated because of what different people believe, but I was a protector. ThenI messed up, big time, and I was shunned from that life. Humans seem to refer to it as fallen, but technically I was banished. To make a long story short, I eventually did something good that the council believed made up for my mistakes. I was given a new ranking - guardian."

"You don't look nine," Damon noted.

"No, I'm supposed to look fourteen. I got to pick how old I would appear, after I died."

"So you're an angel then?" I asked furrowing my eyebrows.

"Well, yeah." She shrugged, "I was assigned to you, Elena. It's my job to protect you."

"Wait, if you died when you were nine, how could you have been -"

"Its fake," Sara interrupted me "all your memories of me, I planted them in your head. It sounds creepy, I know. The vervaine you wear doesn't affect me, and I've only made you believe you know me."

"I'm so confused," Damon confessed.

"I'm not explaining any of this well," Sara cleared her throat and looked at each of us before continuing, "let me try again. There are different… levels of 'angels.' First are what we call Wait Staff, as a joke but technically they are Adjuva, which is a Latin word for help. When someone dies, and hasn't figured out what they believe happens after, the Adjuva work with them to figure out where they should go. This could be many different things ranging from being reborn to becoming an angel. Then, there are Protectors. Simply they sort of fly around and help people who need it. You know when people believe a miracle has happened? Usually a protector has something to do with that. Then, there are Guardians, which is what I am. We are assigned to someone or a group of people and we are in charge of ensuring their safety. Safety from anything, a bully, vampire, ex boyfriend, werewolf, anything. Lastly, there are fates. This one is easy to figure out. Fates work towards making life good for everyone, helping people who need it in any way possible, but they have a difficult job because they need to make life tough at the same time. Life is about learning lessons, so fates can't just make it a simple party. Do you have any questions?"

"Do you have wings?" A figure stepped through the doorway.

"How long have you been there?" Stefan jumped up facing Caroline.

"Don't," I stood up and placed my hand on Stefan's chest, pushing him back.

"She would need to find out eventually," Sara whispered looking at her hands, "I trust her."

"So do you?" Caroline pushed her question.

"Yes. Any other questions?"

"What happens to vampires?" Damon jumped back into his chair, a blood bag in his hand, "Like when they…die."

"I was really hoping to avoid this question."

"Is it bad?" I asked.

"I think that knowing can make people worry, it's dangerous. Let's just say you really don't want to die right now."

"Right now?" Caroline whispered her face looking pale.

"It's a debate, the council can't seem to decide what should happen to vampires, werewolves or any other creatures when they die."

"I thought you said that it's based off of what you believe." Stefan said.

"It is," Sara started "but it's really complicated. You don't need to know all of this. You have enough to worry about."

The next morning was gleaming. Everything about it seemed perfect, I awoke in Stefan's arms, the sun shining on us. The breeze coming through the window felt just right.

Stefan kissed my head lightly, "hey."

I groaned softly and turned over, smiling up to him. "Jeremy's coming!" He spoke suddenly, and swiftly slid out the window.

"Elena?"

"Yeah?" Jeremy opened the door just enough to put his head inside, "You're not out of bed yet? We have to leave in twenty minutes!"

"What? Where are we going?"

"Oh, I don't know," he muttered sarcastically "lets see, it's a Monday, six thirty in the morning… maybe, school?"

"Crap!"

"Are you okay? You've been acting different every since you and Sara got back last night. Did something happen?"

"No, it was just kind of a long day. I'll be down for breakfast in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

I got ready as fast as I could and bolted out of my room, running straight into Sara.

"Oh, sorry."

"It's okay," she started "listen, Elena. I know that all of this is kind of strange, but I'm just following orders. I can tell you everything you want to know, and answer all of your questions, and I promise I will. But it all comes down to one thing, and that one thing is trust. Do you trust me?"

I hesitated. Somehow, even though I barely knew her, I did feel like I could trust her. The way I trust Caroline or Stefan. A reassuring feeling of knowing that nothing and no one will touch me.

"I trust you."

Sara POV

Pep rallies suck.

This pep rally in particular was terrible. Damon and I had the place staked out, each of us patrolling the outskirts of the gymnasium. We were preparing for the worst possible thing - Katherine.

"So," her voice pierced through my skin like needles "do they know what you are then."

"You need to leave, Katherine."

"I'd rather not," she snarled stepping towards me.

I breathed deeply "you don't want to fight me."

"You don't want to walk around like you're invincible!" She screamed. "I came to ask you to deliver a message to the Salvatore brothers."

"And what message would that be?" I cocked an eyebrow.

"Elena's going down." Each word was like stepping on burning pieces of glass. Cutting me, and burning from the inside out.

"Do you think she's gonna show?"

"Don't do that!" I yelled, "you scared me."

"Sorry," Damon laughed.

"She's unpredictable. I fear the second I start believing she won't show, she will, and at that point my guard will be down. I'm preparing myself for the worst, and hoping it doesn't get that far."

"Crazy slut, why can't she just show up and get it over with?"

"She wants you to get mad. She knows that she can make you react," I grumbled.

"Awww, isn't that cute?"


End file.
